Pigs and Battleships (1961)
"Buta to gunkan" (original title)

In post-war Japan, people are working hard, but never so much more than the Yakuza. In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be ... See full synopsis »

Director:

Shôhei Imamura

Writer:

Hisashi Yamauchi

Stars:

Hiroyuki Nagato, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Masao Mishima

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hiroyuki Nagato	...	Kinta
Jitsuko Yoshimura	...	Haruko
Masao Mishima	...	Himori
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Slasher Tetsuji
Shirô Osaka	...	Hoshino
Takeshi Katô	...	Ohachi
Shôichi Ozawa	...	Gunji, Gangster in check shirt
Yôko Minamida	...	Katsuyo
Hideo Sato	...	Kikuo
Eijirô Tôno	...	Kan'ichi
Akira Yamauchi	...	Sakiyama
Sanae Nakahara	...	Hiromi
Kin Sugai	...	Haruko's mother
Bumon Kahara	...	Harukoma
Tomio Aoki	...	Kyuro

Storyline

In post-war Japan, people are working hard, but never so much more than the Yakuza. In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together... See full synopsis »

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Plot Keywords:

dead body | extortion | united states navy | neon signs | truck | 

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

13 September 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Flesh Is Hot

Filming Locations:

Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nikkatsu

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 66 min (re-issue)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Cinéma, de notre temps: Shohei Imamura - Le libre penseur (1995)

User Reviews

An angry, biting film

Teen hoodlum Kinta is excited to be given the plum job of supervising the pig pen at the local US base, for which he'll be responsible diverting the food scraps to the black market, and scoring a good income for his yakuza gang. His girlfriend Hiroku earnestly hopes he'll leave the yakuza and get an honest job, but neither is she a paragon of virtue - she is drawn into prostitution and petty thievery. The story mostly follows their troubled relationship, against a backdrop steeped in corruption, which results from the clash of US Forces occupation against the poverty and aspirations of the people of post-war Japan.

A scathing, even cynical critique. There is no tenderness at all here. Even the young lovers embracing is shown more as a desperate clinging than emotional attachment. And corruption is everywhere - there are no good guys. Confronting stuff, well-photographed, memorable as a vivid nightmare.